THE OPENING TIP: The University of Minnesota Duluth embarks on its second-to-last Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference road trip of the 2017-18 regular season with treks to Augustana University and Wayne State College this weekend. The Bulldogs, who have quadrupled their road win total from a year ago, have the chance to climb above the .500 mark on the road starting with the Vikings on Friday, Jan. 26 at 8:00 p.m. followed by the Wildcats Saturday, Jan. 27 at 6:00 p.m.

SCOUTING REPORT ON AUGUSTANA: The Vikings have flipped wins and losses the last five games including a 84-80 lost to Winona State to wrap up the weekend. Tom Billeter is coaching in his 15th season at Augustana and has the Vikings sitting at 7-7 in the NSIC and 12-8 overall. 
Augustana runs a up-tempo system with pressure. It averages 84.1 points a game, the best in the NSIC, which is 44th in the nation. The Vikings are also first in the NSIC in total three-pointers (208), three-pointers per game (10.4), assists per game (17.0).
Five players -- Jordan Spencer (16.2), John Warren (13.9), Steven Schaefer (13.5), Marcus Asmus (11.2) and Adam Dykman (10.2) -- are averaging double figures. Spencer is second in assists per game (7.9) behind Kutztown's Ethan Ridgeway (8.0). Spencer is also second in the NSIC with 88.2 free throw percentage. Schaefer is fourth in the NSIC field goal percentage (52.8).

SCOUTING REPORT ON WAYNE STATE: The Wildcats are 11-11 and 6-8 in the NSIC. The Wayne State head coach is Jeff Kaminsky. Kaminsky, who is in his second season, has already eclipsed his win total of last year. 
The Wildcats are tops in the NSIC in steals per game (6.7), total steals (147), forced turnovers per game (13.68) and turnover margin (3.2). The 71.0 points allowed per game is the fourth fewest in the conference. Kendall Jacks leads Wayne State with 14.0 points per game. Jacks has attempted the most shots and made 50.8 percentage of his attempts. Trevin Joseph is second with 12.0. Joseph leads the team with 31 steals.

THE SERIES: Augustana has won the last six meetings between it and UMD. The Vikings have used that streak to turn the series record in their favor 15-11. UMD last beat Augustana in Sioux Falls 101-99 on Jan. 8, 2012. The Vikings took last year's matchup 90-67.
Wayne State has been triumphant the previous two games but the Bulldogs have the lead in the rivalry 14-8. The Wildcats came away with a 79-77 win at Romano last season. A 94-80 victory on Jan. 16, 2015 was the last time UMD tamed Wayne State.

HOW THEY RANK: Here is how UMD and its opponents stack up in the NSIC standings and in the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) and the D2SIDA media polls.
TEAM        NSIC        NABC        D2SIDA
UMD          10th           NR               NR
Augie           8th           NR               NR
WSC           9th            NR               NR

THE BROADCAST: Both games this weekend will be carried live through a video stream and is available at:
portal.stretchinternet.com/umd/

LAST TIME OUT: After dismantling their border-battle rivals, the University of Wisconsin-Superior, 74-68 Monday at Romano Gymnasium, the Bulldogs split the NSIC weekend slate. UMD pulled out an 83-74 victory over Minnesota State University-Moorhead finishing the game on a 18-4 run. The Bulldogs didn't have the same fortune against Northern State University as it fell 92-71. Logan Rohrscheib had a career night finishing with 28 points and 6-of-10 from three.

NEW YEAR, NEW BULLDOGS: UMD has reaped the benefits of turning over into the new year. In the month of January, the Bulldogs are 5-2 and have actually matched their win total from 2017. 

CLOSING TIME: UMD has made quite the turn around when it comes to dealing with close games. The Bulldogs are 7-1 this year with games decided by two possessions or less and 7-0 when tied or ahead with five minutes remaining. In 2016-17, UMD was 1-6 in close games and 3-5 in crunch time (five minutes left).

RUNNING AWAY: Three of the last four Bulldog victories have closed with game-ending runs. UMD used back-to-back 12-2 runs in its home weekend sweep over the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University. Last Friday, the Bulldogs went on a 18-4 with five minutes left to overtake MSU-Moorhead. 

LOCKED IN AT THE CHARITY STRIPE: The Bulldogs have been doing an excellence job at drawing contact and getting to the line. UMD is hitting 76.8 percent of its free throws, which is the 22nd best percentage in the division II landscape. Colorado Christian University hold the mark with 80.2 percent. More importantly, they have more makes (207) than opponents attempts (197) in the second half. They are hitting 82.8 percent (101-for-122) under five minutes.
The Bulldogs have relied on three players to take the majority of its free throws, and they all have 80-percent marks from the line. Logan Rohrscheib has the best percentage of all Bulldogs with 85.6, which places him sixth in the NSIC and 72nd in all of Division II. Rohrscheib made 43-straight free throws at one point this season, a Bulldog record for a single season.
Among the other two starters, Trevor Entwisle and Brandon Myer are close behind knocking down 84.3 and 83.0 percent, respectively. 
UMD used its strength to the line 45 times against Northern Michigan, almost reaching the program record of 48 set back on Nov. 30, 1998. As a team, it made 35 of those attempts, which was one short of tying the school record also set on that same date against the University of Minnesota Crookston.

THEREFORE, GET TO THE LINE: As one of the better free throw shooting teams, getting to the line more equals a better chance of pulling out the victory. UMD is 9-4 when it attempts more free throws. However, they have yet to pull one out when they don't get to the line.

DON'T GET BEAT BY THE THREE: Opponents this season are 5-1 when they make more three's then the Bulldogs. When the script is flipped or equal, UMD is 10-5.

MYER THE GO-TO MAN: The dominant sophomore breakout performance continues for Brandon Myer. He has led the team in scoring 10 of the last 12 games and has achieved double figures in all but three games this season. The Superior, Wis. native has posted UMD's only three double-doubles this season. 
Myer set a personal collegiate best with 32 points against Northern Michigan. He is the lone Bulldog since the turn of the century to hit at least 20-plus points in seven consecutive games. During that seven-game stretch, Myer has posted 25.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.0 assists as he's shot a blazing 55.0 percent from the field and 46.4 from three.

WEEKLY RAZZLE DAZZLE: The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference bestowed Brandon Myer with NSIC North Division Player of the Week honors for his outstanding contributions the past two of the past three weeks.
In his Dec. 20, 2016 award, the Superior, Wis. native averaged 31.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and a block per game while shooting a robust 75.0 percent on the floor, hitting 21 of his 28 shots. He created new career highs in consecutive outings as his back-to-back 30-point efforts for the Bulldogs since Ryan Rasmussen posted 30 and 32 back on Jan. 20-21, 2012.
His 32 points was the most since Newton put up 42 points when he won weekly award back on Feb. 1, 2016. 
On Monday, he took home his second honor after averaging 24.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 47.6 percent on the floor including 40.0 percent from behind the arc. He came through in crunch time as he hit the go-ahead shot with 48 seconds remaining to knock off Minnesota Crookston.
Pierre Newton was the last Bulldog to earn at least two players of the week awards for UMD. He accomplished that feat back in 2015-16.

AMONG THE NSIC BESTS: In addition, Brandon Myer top the charts in most of he major categories in the NSIC.
On a per game basis, Myer is fifth in the conference in scoring (20.0) and seventh in rebounding (6.9). He has the sixth best field-goal percentage in the NSIC knocking down 49.6 of his attempts.

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: Coach Bowen for the second straight season is directing a very youthful squad from the sidelines. Only two seniors (Kyle Schalow and Jake Wilson) are on the roster with a combined nine freshmen and sophomores. The five sophomores tallied an average of 19 minutes during their freshmen seasons. Four sophomores pace the Bulldogs in points this season. Their outburst has accounted for 921 points on the season or 68.8 percent of the team's total points.

THE DISTRIBUTOR: No one last year for UMD averaged at least three assists per game but Trevor Entwisle is doing just that this season. The Neenah, Wis., native recorded a Bulldog season-high, as well as a personal collegiate best, 10 assists versus the Dragons. Entwisle is dishing out 4.0 assists per contest and has a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. 
His 4.0 assists per game are the most by a Bulldog in a single season since Sean Seaman averaged 5.3 assists in the 2005-06 season. Among the conference, Entwisle checks out as the ninth best player.

NO EXTRA POSSESSIONS: Limiting turnovers has been a specialty in the past under the direction of Matt Bowen. His teams have ranked among the best at not turning the ball over and this year is no exception. UMD is the best in the NSIC in fewest turnovers per game (8.8), which is second in the Division II landscape. Northwest Missouri State University is first with 8.7 per contest. It has recorded the fourth fewest turnovers on the year, only coughing up the ball 168 times in 19 games. Last week, UMD turned the ball over on average 5.0 times per game including a season-low four times in the victory of MSU-Moorhead on Jan. 19. 

PLAYING SMART: The Bulldogs have committed 298 fouls on the year which is the third fewest fouls by any NSIC team, trailing Minnesota State University-Moorhead and St. Cloud State University.

GET IN THERE, ROOK: Two freshman have cracked minutes thus far in the 2017-18 campaign. Xavier Cummings played two games and made his first appearance versus Michigan Tech on Nov. 22. Jake Paper made his collegiate debut against SCSU on Dec. 16. 

CONFERENCE COACHES CORNER: The NSIC 2017-18 Preseason Coaches' Poll slated UMD to a 13th-place finish. The Bulldogs, which finished eighth in the North Division and a 15th overall a season ago, received 46 points in the poll. The Bulldogs were picked to finish sixth in the North Division ahead of Minnesota Crookston and U-Mary.
Northern State University, who claimed preseason favorites in the North Division, topped out in the overall poll with 213 points slightly edging Southwest Minnesota State University, who was picked to finish first in the south.
St. Cloud State University junior guard Gage Davis was the North Division Preseason Player of the Year. SMSU junior guard Ryan Bruggeman was named the South Division Preseason Player of the Year.

NEW DOGS ON THE BLOCK: The Bulldogs bring in four freshmen (Jimmy Vollbrecht, Xavier Cummings, Adam Smith and Jake Paper) and a junior college transfer (Mamadou Ngom) to join the 2017-18 roster and the 11 returners from a season ago.

BOWEN'S BITS: Entering his sixth season in 2017, head coach Matt Bowen looks to take the next step to bringing the University of Minnesota Duluth to the top of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Armed with a lineup of experienced underclassman and vital leaders, the Bulldogs are set to improve upon the 2016-17 season.
Bowen is no stranger to turning a program around, having taken a perennial Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference underdog in Bemidji State University to a championship level that has not been repeated since he left the program to take over as UMD head coach in the summer of 2012. Bowen, just the third head coach for the Bulldogs since the mid-1980's, succeeded Gary Holquist, who stepped down in April 2012 to take the role of UMD's Athletic Development Director.
Under Bowen, UMD produced its first NABC All-Region selection since 2008-09 in Brett Ervin ('15) during the 2014-15 season as well as NABC Honors Court selection Jake Harder ('16) that season and All-NSIC guard Jordan Reetz ('14) the previous year. Along with an influx of young talent, the future seems bright for the Bulldogs under Bowen's guidance.
Bowen completed his turnaround of Bemidji State in his sixth and most productive year with the program, guiding the Beavers to a school record 22-9 overall mark which included an NSIC regular season championship and the program's second NCAA II playoff berth in the team's 91-year history. In addition to receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll for the first-time ever, Bowen also produced the 2011-12 NSIC and NCAA II Player of the Year in James Ellisor. 
Prior to his appointment in Bemidji, Bowen spent 15 years on the staffs of three NCAA I institutions, working under the likes of Homer Drew (Valparaiso University), Gene Bartow (University of Alabama-Birmingham) and Bob Knight (Indiana University). 
A native of River Falls, Wisconsin, Bowen graduated from Indiana University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in health, physical education and recreation and earned a Master's degree in health education from Alabama-Birmingham four years later. His father, Rick, was the head men's basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls from 1986-2006 and retired as that school's athletic director in 2010.

ON TAP: The Bulldogs start a five-game homestand starting next weekend with Minnesota State University, Mankato and Concordia University, St. Paul.